Monitoring Of Co, No2 And So2 Levels During The Covid-19 Pandemic In Iran Using Remote Sensing Imagery

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a major impact on various sectors. Iran is one of the countries most affected by this pandemic. After considering the huge impact, the government imposed strict rules prohibiting social gatherings and restricting travel for the entire population following the large number of victims in the country. These restrictions lead to changes in the environment, especially air quality. The purpose of this study was to find out how the COVID-19 pandemic affected air quality in Iran following the activity restrictions in the region. The method used in this research was based on the use of multitemporal Sentinel-5P data processing with scripts available on the Google Earth Engine applied on the images, acquired in the period before and after the COVID-19 pandemic. The data used included the image collection of Sentinel-5P NRTI CO: Near Real-Time Carbon Monoxide, Sentinel-5P NRTI NO2: Near Real-Time Nitrogen Dioxide and Sentinel-5P NRTI SO2: Near Real-Time Sulphur Dioxide. The results showed, that for Iran in general, changes in the concentration of CO are clearly visible in urban areas with high population activity such as Tehran, where there was a decrease from 0.05 to 0.0286 mol/m2, while for other areas it is also influenced by the varying climate conditions, which affect the level of pollution. For the NO2 pollutant, there was a significant decrease in pollution levels in big cities such as Tehran, Qom, Isfahan and Mashhad from 0.0002 to 0.000114 mol/m2. For the SO2 pollutant, there was a decrease in pollution levels in Iran’s big cities from 0.0005 to 0.0000714 mol/m2. For Tehran province, which is the most populous and busiest province in Iran, it can be observed that there was also a decrease in the concentration of pollutants after the lockdown compared to the pre-lockdown period. The CO concentration decreased from 0.043 to 0.036 mol/m2, while for the NO2 pollutant there was a decrease from 0.0002 to 0.000142 mol/m2 and for the SO2 pollutant, there was a decrease from 0.0005 to 0.000143 mol/m2.

Fatala River Basin (Republic of Guinea, Africa): Analysis of Current State, Air Pollution, and Anthropogenic Impact Using Geoinformatics Methods and Remote Sensing Data

“…Consequently, the findings are contingent on this time frame. Thirdly, it It is important to note that the analysis of pollutants and their concentrations is primarily conducted within major urban centers [69,[75][76][77]. Studies regarding air content of various chemical elements are typically conducted at the national level, such as in Iran [75], Peru [72], Indonesia [78], India [79], Bulgaria [80], Russia [74,81], and China [82].…”

“…Thirdly, it It is important to note that the analysis of pollutants and their concentrations is primarily conducted within major urban centers [69,[75][76][77]. Studies regarding air content of various chemical elements are typically conducted at the national level, such as in Iran [75], Peru [72], Indonesia [78], India [79], Bulgaria [80], Russia [74,81], and China [82]. Specific studies on carbon monoxide concentration in the air are often associated with forest fire monitoring [83][84][85].…”

Introduction To Geography Of Covid-19 Pandemic: Environmental Issues, Public Health And Socio-Economic Consequences

“…The impacts of the pandemic lockdown on the environment, air pollution, and water quality are considered in (Chubarova et al 2021;Sari et al 2021;Islam et al 2021;Arakelov et al 2021). The analysis of changes in concentration of different atmospheric gas and aerosol species during the COVID-19 lockdown has been made using ground-based and satellite measurements for different geographical regions: Iran (Sari et al 2021), India (Islam et al 2021) and Moscow megacity in Russia (Chubarova et al 2021).…”

Particulate and gaseous air pollutants exceed WHO guideline values and have the potential to damage human health in Faisalabad, Metropolitan, Pakistan

“…CO interrupts oxygen delivery to the organs and tissues of the human body. During the COVID-19 pandemic, air pollutant concentration was reduced significantly due to reduced transportation and industrial activities, indicating that there is a direct relationship between pollutant emissions and fossil fuels combustion (Sari & Kuncoro, 2021 ). NOx and SO 2 are also produced by the combustion of fossil fuels and are thus emitted by vehicle exhausts, and from industrial chimneys (Javed et al, 2014 ; Kumar et al, 2018 ; Richter et al, 2005 ).…”